Global Travel Management — Bringing Home the Benefits

To streamline processes and gain control over global travel spend, businesses of all sizes are beginning to manage their travel programs globally. The benefits can be substantial, and many companies realize a significant ROI as they go global with travel management.

Companies seeking to integrate worldwide travel operations expect to achieve a number of strategic aims:

• Gain visibility into global travel spend for analysis and financial management;
• Improve efficiency, reduce costs, and boost productivity;
• Achieve consistent application of corporate policies;
• Increase travel policy compliance;
• Satisfy travelers with superior service;
• Improve global knowledge transfer to promote best practices;
• Leverage worldwide purchasing power;
• Establish better systems to track employees and strengthen security.

There is no doubt that global travel management programs can help businesses achieve control and compliance, support analysis and benchmarking, help leverage volume discounts with vendors, and improve the planning and budgeting process. Companies benefit from accurate and timely reporting, consistency and quality in the level of data, and improved communication standards across the enterprise.

Still, there a number of challenges and pitfalls, including significant regulatory, economic, and cultural differences from country to country. Companies that invest the time up front to do the necessary research, planning, and cultural training will, ultimately, have the most success as they globalize their travel programs.

Going Global Means Understanding What's Local
Your goal is to automate, standardize, and streamline. So, it may seem like something of a contradiction to be told that the most important thing to remember when planning implementation of a global travel management program is local differences. However, many U.S. companies mistakenly assume that the way they do business is the only way to do it. And this simply is not the case. Consider the fact that in the United Kingdom entertainment expenses are taxed differently depending on whether the expense was incurred internally or externally, or that in Germany reimbursement for vehicle use depends on the time of day when the traveler departs on the trip.

Not only do regulations and requirements differ widely from country to country, but cultural norms and differences play a major role in everything from the way offices function to vendor negotiations. A key to any successful global travel program is to embrace these differences from the outset; to solicit input, advice, and feedback from local contacts; and to enlighten and educate throughout all levels of the enterprise. Global business experts agree that U.S.-centric attitudes often create serious obstacles for companies working abroad and this is especially true around travel and entertainment policies.

Smart Change Management
As with any major change in operations, thorough planning is critical. Take the time to gather the information you'll need to make informed decisions about every aspect of your travel program. You'll want to visit your various business sites to be sure you know how they operate; create cross-regional and cross-functional teams to gather information about what's currently working and what isn't on a local level; research country by country options for Global Distribution Systems (GDS) and for non-GDS carriers, on-line booking tools, and global corporate cards; review variations in technology capability and data privacy regulations; investigate local tax regulations and requirements; review travel policies enterprise-wide; identify regional preferences; evaluate travel agencies and consider selection of a single travel management company; and collect as much information as you can to ensure sensitivity to local needs and norms.

Smart companies invest the time to look at differences, plan carefully, and communicate objectives and expectations clearly. Setting a realistic time-frame for implementation is fundamental. Nevertheless, it's impossible to underestimate the impact of change—companies with a strong track record when it comes to change management will be ahead of the game. It goes without saying that support from senior management is not merely useful, but essential. Enterprise-wide policies will be difficult to enforce without the backing of company leadership.

Globalization Requires Automation
Expense reporting is a major component of any travel management program. While it's a fact that average savings over five years with an automated travel and entertainment expense (T&E) management solution—a virtually paperless process—is 2,000 USD per filer, cost savings is only one of the reasons why an automated outsourced solution is a recognized best practice for both domestic and global travel management programs. Automation offers precisely what global travel programs require to be successful—an efficient, consistent process, configured for local differences. The resulting improvements in control and compliance, and instant insights into travel spend are invaluable.

Companies that implement global travel management programs with automated T&E systems are typically seeking to:

• Develop and enforce standardized policies, procedures, and processes;
• Reduce T&E expense processing costs;
• Increase employee satisfaction with faster reimbursement;
• Enhance controls and compliance;
• Transition accounting and finance staff from data processing to cost control processing (analysis of actionable data);
• Drive global card spend.

Best-in-class expense management solution providers will help create consistent corporate-wide policies designed to accommodate local regulations and differences. They make is possible to standardize multiple expense systems to eliminate redundancies and increase efficiency and consolidate T&E spend data for immediate access to complete information across your enterprise. In the interest of employee satisfaction, they allow the company to reimburse travelers quickly in their home currency and integrate corporate card transactions to provide a faster more user friendly expense report filing experience for the employee. And with regulatory concerns and the need for cost control higher than ever, these solutions provide the transparency required to monitor compliance and track spend. Companies should implement a solution nimble enough to track the data they need to capture, data that will provide a solid knowledge base from which to make decisions about policy, supplier negotiations, and budgeting.

Consistency and Flexibility
Consistent policies and processes will streamline operations and boost productivity. But, consistency without flexibility can be more of a liability than an asset. If your policy requires that travelers worldwide fly coach for trips shorter than, say, six hours, but you're doing business in countries (and there are several) where business travelers never fly coach, an inflexible system is bound to cause problems. Or if your policy and reporting forms are based on reimbursement practices in the United States where per diems are no longer standard, you'll create problems for travelers in Germany and Italy, where per diems remain the norm.

An effective global travel program relies on an expense reporting system that is both consistent and flexible, balancing corporate-wide policies and practices with the need for regional uniqueness. VAT (value added tax) reclamation, regional taxable benefits, per diems, vehicle usage and reimbursement, classes of airline service, hotel room types, airport transportation, car rental and rental insurance, and preferred vendors and supplies differ from country to country. It's critical to configure these local differences into your expense reporting solution from the outset, so you won't have to backtrack to correct inconsistencies and exceptions midstream. At every juncture, be sure to ask yourself, "Am I in agreement with local regulations?"

Global Corporate Cards
Driving worldwide consolidated card spend is a key objective for most global travel programs. Many corporate card issuers offer global or multinational card programs to help companies increase efficiencies and control while reducing costs. To choose a particular payment program optimum for your specific needs, it is suggested that you evaluate five key components: 1) Data Consolidation -- your provider should have the ability to consolidate your spend transaction data for interfaces to your financial systems and to expense management solution; 2) Acceptance -- evaluate acceptance in the key cities, countries and regions your cardholders live, work and travel; 3) Flexible Liability and Payment Configurations -- regulatory and cultural standards may drive varied requirements per country or region; 4) Country Specific Languages, Currencies and Policy Management -- localization is imperative to cardholder use adoption; 5) Reporting Tools -- visibility to consolidated spend allows analysis of opportunities for policy refinement, supplier negotiation, or compliance measurement.

Control and Compliance—You Get What You Measure
Expense reporting is like any aspect of your business—you get what you measure. One of the most significant benefits of a global travel program with automated expense management is achieving spend visibility across the enterprise. The ability to track spending patterns globally helps you gain control over costs, improve compliance with regulations, as well as with policy, and supports planning and budgeting. Figure out what you need to know at the outset and have your T&E solution provider configure expense report categories, approvals, and alerts to capture precisely the information you need, when you need it. If you take full advantage of the solution's configurability from the start, you’ll be able to rely on the data you need down the road.

World-wide Purchasing Power
To leverage volume discounts with suppliers, local and global, you need a solid knowledge base—insight into spend by the categories that match the way you conduct business. Be sure your expense management provider configures the solution to give you the data you need to support effective negotiations. With more and more business travel suppliers offering services on a global scale, it's simply good business to optimize every opportunity to increase your world-wide purchasing power.

At the same time, successful global companies demonstrate they are also good local citizens. (And regional suppliers sometimes offer better deals.) Take the time to learn the local marketplace. Rely on local executives and travel professionals to help you determine when the choice of a local supplier is best and have them assist with vendor selections and negotiations, as appropriate.

Traveler Satisfaction—Worldwide Service
Providing superior service to their travelers—user-friendly processes and speedy reimbursement—helps companies retain top-notch professionals and stay competitive. Web-based expense management solutions make it possible to file expense reports from anywhere travelers have access to the Internet, from the office, the airport, the hotel, or from home. Best-in-class providers offer an intuitive solution, requiring minimal training and offering ease-of-use. The fewer hours employees spend on process tasks, the more time they can devote to value-add activities. Solution providers that can manage the often complicated expense reimbursement process abroad can ensure rapid employee reimbursement which is an important consideration.

Naturally, language differences and differences in currency play an enormous role in global business operations and in expense report processing and reimbursement. Consider a solution with sophisticated currency conversion tools; the ability to reimburse travelers in their home currency—a plus for your travelers; and the capacity to file in one language and process the report in another (which may be necessary for companies with a shared services environment).

Organizational Infrastructure—Shared Services
Consider carefully how the program will be administered: country by country, regionally, or centrally. Many companies, particularly those with large global operations, are turning to shared services—the centralized management of activities for multiple users. Consolidating routine, high-volume activities, such as expense report processing, is compatible with many global travel program goals, including automation, standardization, reduction of administrative costs, and a service-oriented focus. Standardization also enables the organization to provide enhanced opportunities to employees who can transfer to new locations without the need to learn new systems and processes.

Bringing Home Strong Results—Country by Country
There are great potential benefits to creating a global travel program supported by an automated T&E management system:

• Data consolidation;
• Consistent service levels;
• Fewer relationships to manage;
• Improved control over technology;
• Improved compliance to government regulations, such as Sarbanes-Oxley in the United States;
• Consistent application of corporate policies;
• Standardization and streamlining of processes;
• Global knowledge transfer.

Naturally, to achieve these benefits, you are thinking comprehensively about the entire enterprise. But, you can bring home great results by starting locally. Consider testing the program in your major markets (and in locations where you expect the least resistance), building a case for wider implementation, and implementing in stages. Providers with configurable, scalable solutions will make it possible to roll out your global travel management program incrementally.

Finally, it is important to remember through each phase of the rollout that what you require from your global travel management program is the same thing you require from your domestic one—an efficient, cost-effective system that offers superior service to your travelers, increases productivity, and helps boost the bottom line.

The Gelco Difference

If you're burdened with inconsistent, inefficient and error-prone expense processes, you may be missing the capabilities you need. Gelco is the only hosted expense management service provider that offers your global organization a configurable system that supports local regulatory compliance needs, business practices and company policies everywhere you do business, all in a single solution that provides “touch of a button” complete global visibility to your T&E spend. We focus on making expense management fast, easy, and accurate so you can focus on your core business. Our team of experienced representatives is ready to work with you to identify a solution that meets your needs. For more information please contact your representative or visit our website at www.gelcoexpense.com.